In the recent round of earnings reports, a number of solar industry executives said solar panel demand and prices next year might hold up better than expected.

"It feels like things aren't going to be as bad as originally feared," says John Hardy, an analyst with American Technology Research.

That would be comfort to solar companies, which still are expecting slowing demand at a time when supply is increasing. But where most analysts had been expecting solar panel prices to fall 10% to 20% in 2009, some industry executives and analysts now are expecting a decline of less than 10%, and perhaps less than 5%....MORE